The core logic of the South American steel market is that end-user demand drives everything. Consumption demand is the starting point, filled jointly by local production and imports; imports act as a regulating valve rather than a driving force.

According to Eunews, the EU ferrosilicon market—crucial for stainless steel production—is facing a severe crisis driven by soaring energy costs rather than Chinese competition. Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič clarified that recent safeguard investigations revealed no increase in Chinese imports, debunking claims of unfair trade practices. Instead, the primary threat to EU producers is unsustainable energy expenses. This situation, initially assessed in January, is now expected to worsen significantly. The recent outbreak of war in Iran and the escalating conflict in the Persian Gulf are triggering massive energy price spikes, putting immense additional pressure on European ferrosilicon operations and the broader stainless steel supply chain.

According to EUROMETAL reports, the European automotive components sector faces mounting pressure from Chinese competition, rising imports, and stagnant growth. At the EUROMETAL Steel Day, Autoliv's Cosmin Bakai noted global light vehicle production will grow ~1.3% by 2030, but Europe remains weak. While Chinese automakers plan facilities in Europe, initial capacities (50,000-100,000 units) won't immediately drive major local steel demand. Crucially, component trade is outpacing vehicle trade; Chinese component imports to the EU doubled over three years to $8 billion. Meanwhile, $11 billion in EU component exports to the US face tariff pressures. Consequently, the short-to-medium-term outlook for European automotive steel demand remains bleak.

[SMM Steel] Mexico's Ministry of Economy (SE) has initiated an administrative review of anti-dumping (AD) duties on prestressed steel imports from China, Spain, and Portugal. Current duties, including US$1.02/kg for Chinese imports, remain in effect to protect domestic production from potential injury.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the world’s top cobalt supplier (over 70% of global 2024 supply), imposed 2025 export bans/quotas, roiling cobalt prices. With large-scale exports unresumed, the U.S. launched "Project Vault" to secure critical minerals, adding DRC supply uncertainties and heightening geopolitical risks for Chinese cobalt procurement.

As China and the US implemented a series of tariff adjustment measures, US importers significantly increased their import orders from China this week. Data from multiple shipping companies and industry trackers showed that China's cargo volume to the US has rebounded significantly. Container bookings surged by 277% On Wednesday, Eastern Time, Vizion, a container tracking data software provider, stated that after China and the US reached a trade "truce," container shipping bookings from China to the US soared by nearly 300%. Ben Tracy, the company's Vice President of Strategic Business Development, revealed that in the seven days leading up to Wednesday, the average number of container shipping bookings from China to the US surged by 277%, reaching 21,530 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) , compared to an average of 5,709 TEUs in the seven days leading up to last Monday (May 5). On April 2, Trump announced plans to impose hefty tariffs on Chinese-made goods, leading to a sharp decline in container bookings by US importers. However, after the US and China reached a tariff agreement on Monday, US importers' bookings surged again. According to the joint statement issued by China and the US on April 2, within the next 90 days, the US will reduce tariffs on Chinese imports from 145% to 30%, while China will reduce tariffs on US imports from 125% to 10%. Tracy said, "Now that there's this temporary truce, we're definitely starting to see a rebound in bookings." Shipping bookings surge Earlier that day, German container shipping company Hapag-Lloyd stated that in the first three days of this week, the company's bookings on the US-China route increased by 50% MoM. Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen said, "I expect a surge in trade volume between China and the US, which is what we've already seen in the past few days." On Tuesday, Eastern Time, Ryan Petersen, the founder and CEO of freight forwarding company Flexport, posted on his X account, "Since the first day of the trade agreement, our ocean freight bookings from China to the US have increased by 35%. A significant backlog is imminent, and vessels (space) will soon be sold out." Paul Brashier, Vice President of Global Supply Chain at logistics company ITS Logistics, said, "My clients have pre-loaded thousands of containers in China, ready for shipment." He expects a further surge in container shipping volumes in the next four to six weeks.